Daniel Farquhar was born in Montgomery County, Ohio, on April 18, 1834. He enlisted from Rosemount in Dakota County. The 29 year old joined Company A on April 29, 1861. He was 5'9' tall, had a fair complexion, blue eyes, sandy hair. Dan and his older brother, John, had been blacksmith s before the war. Dan served as the artifcer for the company. The artificer was the mechanic or repairman for the unit. He might work on weapon or equipment repair while out in the field. John Farquhar also served in the First Minnesota. He joined on Oct 22, 1861, and was placed in Company to seve with his younger brother, Daniel. Dan was wounded at the battles of Antietam and Gettysburg. At Antietam he was sverly wounded in the leg. His Gettysburg wounds were in the ankle and in the left leg above the knee. The latter was a compound fracture of the left tibia. He recovered this second time, but was no longer fit for duty. The surgeon stated that he should be able to earn a "fair subsistance." He was discharged for disability from the Lowell General Hospital, on March 16, 1864. Apparently Daniel felt he was fit for some service. On Nov 1, 1864, he enlisted again and was placed in Company A, of the First Regiment, U S Veteran Volunteer Engineers, again as an artificer. The Veteran Volunteers were units made up of wounded veterans, who were not able to serve on the front lines, but could serve in a support capicity, thus freeing up able bodied men to go to the front lines. Dan served with the unit until being discharged in Nashville, Tenn, on Sept 26, 1865. After the war he returned to Minnesota and lived in Rosemount most of the time, but did spend 2 years each in Lyons, Douglas, and Redwood counties. Dan never married and remained a bachhelor all his life. On July 17, 1894, he moved from Rosemount and was admitted to the Soldiers Home in Minneapolis. He was no longer able to work at his trade of blacksmithing. Daniel was penniless, undernourished and suffering from bronchial asthma. The Gettysburg gunshot wound in his left leg, had caused rheumatism in his knee and hip, resulting in stiffness in his knee and ankle joint. He was getting a $6 monthly pension at the time. Surgeon Green stated that he was a "drinker but a harmless fellow". He left the home in 1898 to return to work as a blacksmith, with his nephew in the state of Washington. Dan's older brother, John, also served in the First Minnesota. We don't know about their reltionship, but the nephew, he went to work with, was undoubtably John's son. Dan probably remained in Washington for about the next 15 years of his life. On April 24th, 1909, he stated that he had been receiving a $20 monthly pension while he was living in Payallup, Washington. He was again applying for admission to the Soldiers Home. He stated that his address was then 3326 16th Ave S, in Minneapolis. He was admitted. The 1910 roster of the veterans lists his residence as being the Soldiers Home in Minneapolis. On Sept 28, 1911, Surgeon Rutledge stated that Danial was senile and totally disabled and as such would have to be helped to attend to his daily needs. His sight was all but gone. He had a well developed cateract in his right eye and partial in his left eye. Just a month later, on October 26, 1911, Dan died at the home. He was 77 years old. In his will he left any personal property to his niece, Mary Johnson. She lived at 3336 Bloomington Ave S in Minneapolis. It is doubtful that he had any personal property, however. Most of the old vets who entered the home were penniless. The following is from Dainiel's obituary. It has some errors as to the lengthof his service: The funeral of Daniel Farquhar, 77 years old, who was stricken with paralysis Wednesday afternoon at the soldier's home, dying Thursday, will be held from the home this morning at 10 o'clock. Internment will be at Lakewood cemetery, Minneapolis. Mr Farquhar was one of the first to enlist in the First Minnesota and continued with that regiment until it was mustered out. After the Battle of Gettysburg he was left wounded on the field among the dead. He remained there ubtil the next day, when he was found by a sentinel. He was taken to the emergency hospital at Gettysburg where he hovered between life and death for weeks. Mr Farquhar never married. His only surviving relatives are two nieces-Mrs M Johnson and Mrs M Orchard, both of Minneapolis. Sources: St Paul Pioneer Press, Saturday, Oct 28, 1911. Military Service Record, National Archives St Paul Pioneer Press, July 22, 1863. First Minnesota Assoc papers. Minnesota Soldiers Home records. Executive Documents of the State of Minnesota for the Fiscal Year Ending July 31, 1894. Vol III, The Pioneer Press Co, St Paul, MN, 1895, p 182. Roster of the First Minnesota Infantry, 1910. The St Paul Pioneer Press, Sept 6, 1909. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
